Facts, Trivia, Memories and More about Catfish Hunter

Memories: M. Greig from Vegreville, Alberta writes: "I'm a lifelong Yankees fan in western Canada. In 1979 I attended the MLB All-Star game at the Kingdome in Seattle, and during BP I managed to catch a ball hit by Steve Garvey of the hated Dodgers. Having missed the opportunity to get Catfish's autograph on a ball the previous season, I took a wild chance and mailed the Garvey ball to Hunter at "General Delivery" in his hometown of Hertford, N.C.

Along with the ball, I enclosed a short note telling him how I caught theball in Seattle and how much it would mean to me if he inscribed it to me. I also enclosed a money order in the amount of $10 US to cover the cost of return postage. You cannot imagine my surprise and happiness a few weeks later when a package arrived at my home, containing not only the autographed ball, but also a beautifully inscribed color photo of Catfish AND a handwritten note explaining he was returning the money order, uncashed, "because it's my pleasure to hear from a Yankees fan in Canada." I was 23 years old then. Today I'm 51 and Catfish Hunter is still my all-time favourite ball player."